Category Archives: Addiction

Is cannabis use associated with less opioid use among people who inject drugs?

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“Clinical, experimental, and ethnographic research suggests that cannabis may be used to help manage pain.

Ethnographic research has revealed that some people are using cannabis to temper their illicit opioid use. We seek to learn if there is an association between cannabis use and the frequency of nonmedical opioid use among people who inject drugs (PWID).

…people who used cannabis used opioids less often than those who did not use cannabis…

There is a statistical association between recent cannabis use and lower frequency of nonmedical opioid use among PWID.

This may suggest that PWID use cannabis to reduce their pain and/or nonmedical use of opioids.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26051162

Enhancement of endocannabinoid signaling protects against cocaine-induced neurotoxicity.

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“Cocaine is an addictive substance with a potential to cause deleterious effects in the brain. The strategies for treating its neurotoxicity, however, are limited.

Evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system exerts neuroprotective functions against various stimuli. Thus, we hypothesized that inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the main enzyme responsible for terminating the actions of the endocannabinoid anandamide, reduces seizures and cell death in the hippocampus in a model of cocaine intoxication…

In conclusion, the pharmacological facilitation of the anandamide/CB1/PI3K signaling protects the brain against cocaine intoxication in experimental models. This strategy may be further explored in the development of treatments for drug-induced neurotoxicity.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25933444

Cannabidiol Rescues Acute Hepatic Toxicity and Seizure Induced by Cocaine.

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“Cocaine is a commonly abused illicit drug that causes significant morbidity and mortality. The most severe and common complications are seizures, ischemic strokes, myocardial infarction, and acute liver injury. Here, we demonstrated that acute cocaine intoxication promoted seizure along with acute liver damage in mice, with intense inflammatory infiltrate.

Considering the protective role of the endocannabinoid system against cell toxicity, we hypothesized that treatment with an anandamide hydrolysis inhibitor, URB597, or with a phytocannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), protects against cocaine toxicity.

URB597 (1.0 mg/kg) abolished cocaine-induced seizure, yet it did not protect against acute liver injury.

Using confocal liver intravital microscopy, we observed that CBD reduced acute liver inflammation and damage induced by cocaine and prevented associated seizure.

Additionally, we showed that previous liver damage induced by another hepatotoxic drug (acetaminophen) increased seizure and lethality induced by cocaine intoxication, linking hepatotoxicity to seizure dynamics.

These findings suggest that activation of cannabinoid system may have protective actions on both liver and brain induced by cocaine, minimizing inflammatory injury promoted by cocaine, supporting its further clinical application in the treatment of cocaine abuse.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999668

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4427116/

Use of Prescription Pain Medications Among Medical Cannabis Patients: Comparisons of Pain Levels, Functioning, and Patterns of Alcohol and Other Drug Use.

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“Management of chronic pain is one of the most common reasons given by individuals seeking medical cannabis. However, very little information exists about the concurrent use of cannabis and prescription pain medication (PPM).

This study fills this gap in knowledge by systematically comparing medical cannabis users who use or do not use PPM, with an emphasis on understanding whether concurrent use of cannabis and PPM is associated with more serious forms of alcohol and other drug involvement…

PPM users rated the efficacy of cannabis higher than PPM for pain management and indicated a strong desire to reduce PPM usage.

Use of PPM among medical cannabis users was not identified as a correlate for more serious forms of alcohol and other drug involvement.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25978826

Cannabidiol effects in the prepulse inhibition disruption induced by amphetamine.

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“Drugs that facilitate dopaminergic neurotransmission such as amphetamine induce PPI disruption in human and rodents.

Clinical and neurobiological findings suggest that the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoids may be implicated in the pathophysiology and treatment of schizophrenia.

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotomimetic constituent of the Cannabis sativa plant, has also been reported to have potential as an antipsychotic.

Our aim was to investigate if CBD pretreatment was able to prevent PPI disruption induced by amphetamine…

Pretreatment with CBD attenuated the amphetamine-disruptive effects…

These results corroborate findings indicating that CBD induces antipsychotic-like effects.

In addition, they pointed to the nucleus accumbens as a possible site of these effects.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25943166

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/schizophrenia/

 

Enhancement of endocannabinoid signalling protects against cocaine-induced neurotoxicity.

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“Cocaine is an addictive substance with a potential to cause deleterious effects in the brain. The strategies for treating its neurotoxicity, however, are limited.

Evidence suggest that the endocannabinoid system exerts neuroprotective functions against various stimuli. Thus, we hypothesized that inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the main enzyme responsible for terminating the actions of the endocannabinoid anandamide, reduces seizures and cell death in the hippocampus in a model of cocaine intoxication…

In conclusion, the pharmacological facilitation of the anandamide/CB1/PI3K signalling protects the brain against cocaine intoxication in experimental models. This strategy may be further explored in the development of treatments for drug-induced neurotoxicity.”

European rating of drug harms.

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“The present paper describes the results of a rating study performed by a group of European Union (EU) drug experts using the multi-criteria decision analysis model for evaluating drug harms.

Alcohol, heroin and crack emerged as the most harmful drugs (overall weighted harm score 72, 55 and 50, respectively). The remaining drugs had an overall weighted harm score of 38 or less, making them much less harmful than alcohol.

The outcome of this study shows that the previous national rankings based on the relative harms of different drugs are endorsed throughout the EU.

The results indicates that EU and national drug policy measures should focus on drugs with the highest overall harm, including alcohol and tobacco, whereas drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy should be given lower priority including a lower legal classification.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25922421

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/addiction/

A safer alternative: Cannabis substitution as harm reduction.

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“Harm reduction is a set of strategies that aim to minimise problems associated with drug use while recognising that for some users, abstinence may be neither a realistic nor a desirable goal.

In this paper, we aim for deeper understandings of older adult cannabis users’ beliefs and substitution practices as part of the harm reduction framework..

Study participants described using cannabis as a safer alternative for alcohol, illicit drugs and pharmaceuticals based on their perceptions of less adverse side effects, low-risk for addiction and greater effectiveness at relieving symptoms, such as chronic pain.

Cannabis substitution can be an effective harm reduction method for those who are unable or unwilling to stop using drugs completely.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25919477

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/addiction/

 

Responsible and controlled use: Older cannabis users and harm reduction.

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“Cannabis use is becoming more accepted in mainstream society. In this paper, we use Zinberg’s classic theoretical framework of drug, set, and setting to elucidate how older adult cannabis users managed health, social and legal risks in a context of normalized cannabis use…

Interviewees made harm reduction choices based on preferred cannabis derivatives and routes of administration, as well as why, when, where, and with whom to use. Most interviewees minimized cannabis-related harms so they could maintain social functioning in their everyday lives. Responsible and controlled use was described as moderation of quantity and frequency of cannabis used, using in appropriate settings, and respect for non-users. Users contributed to the normalization of cannabis use through normification.

Participants followed rituals or cultural practices, characterized by sanctions that helped define “normal” or “acceptable” cannabis use. Users contributed to cannabis normalization through their harm reduction methods.

These cultural practices may prove to be more effective than formal legal prohibitions in reducing cannabis-related harms.

Findings also suggest that users with access to a regulated market (medical cannabis dispensaries) were better equipped to practice harm reduction.

More research is needed on both cannabis culture and alternative routes of administration as harm reduction methods.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25911027

The dopamine theory of addiction: 40 years of highs and lows.

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“For several decades, addiction has come to be viewed as a disorder of the dopamine neurotransmitter system; however, this view has not led to new treatments. In this Opinion article, we review the origins of the dopamine theory of addiction and discuss the ability of addictive drugs to elicit the release of dopamine in the human striatum.

There is robust evidence that stimulants increase striatal dopamine levels and some evidence that alcohol may have such an effect, but little evidence, if any, that cannabis and opiates increase dopamine levels.

Moreover, there is good evidence that striatal dopamine receptor availability and dopamine release are diminished in individuals with stimulant or alcohol dependence but not in individuals with opiate, nicotine or cannabis dependence. These observations have implications for understanding reward and treatment responses in various addictions.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25873042

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/addiction/